Hyderabad: Defence Minister Arun Jaitley has visited Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited (MIDHANI) at Kanchanbagh and laid foundation stone for a 3-meter wide Plate Mill and the Phase # 2 Modernisation of MIDHANI. The new wide Plate Mill of MIDHANI is unique and shall be capable of producing Special Alloy and Titanium alloy plates ranging from 4 mm to 20 mm in thickness.
The Defence Minister also dedicated the phase # 1 of modernization to the Nation, in which, MIDHANI has invested around Rs 400 crores in various captive facilities viz EAF-LRF-V/VOD, Forge Press, Ring Roll Mill, ESR, VAR, EBM. MIDHANI’s phase # 2 of Modernization, for which foundation stone is laid, shall see a further investment of around Rs.1000 crores in various captive facilities viz Wide Plate Mill, Solar Power Plant, Armouring Unit, Tungsten Power Plant, Closed Die Forging & Reheating Furnaces in next 3 to 4 years.
During his visit, Arun Jaitley witnessed the special Melting and Forging facilities of MIDHANI. Complementing the role of the MIDHANI in helping achieve self-reliance in the areas of Special Metals, Metal Alloys & Titanium Alloys, Arun Jaitley lauded the efforts of MIDHANI in carrying forward the ‘Make in India’ program of the Government of India.
The New Melt shop with a combination of Vacuum degassing (VD) and Electro slag refining (ESR) is the first of its kind facility in the country capable of meeting the material requirements for manufacture of indigenous Dhanush barrel, Power plant rotor forgings, barrels for T-72 and T-90 tanks, Special Steel forgings for Nuclear Submarine, etc. Dr. Dinesh Kumar Likhi, Chairman & Managing Director, MIDHANI informed that MIDHANI is soon going to establish an Armouring unit at Rohtak, Haryana and also an Aluminum alloy plant at Nellore, Andhra Pradesh. The landmark event was also attended by Secretary, Department of Defence Production, eminent scientists and defence personnel, along with a large number of senior officers of MIDHANI and other invitees.
MIDHANI’s contribution in indigenization and Make in India initiatives of the Government are notable. MIDHANI, as a first in the country, successfully produced Hafnium Metal using state of art EBM furnace having vital application in Space sector. Similarly, as a first in the country, large Nickel Super Alloy based casting has been made by Midhani through the Air Induction Melting route. Midhani has achieved considerable success in reducing country’s dependence on imports and has been a significant contributor in Foreign exchange savings as well as consistently registering higher outsourcing leading to peripheral industrial development and employment generation. (NSS)